A major Georgia Department of Transportation project on U.S. Highway 27 at Taylor’s Ridge has taken another step toward construction, with Wilson Construction Management, LLC of Norcross listed as the apparent low bidder at $4,076,759.
A major Georgia Department of Transportation project on Taylor’s Ridge is expected to move into construction later this fall, with current project information listing November 17 as the anticipated start date.
A major Georgia Department of Transportation project planned for U.S. 27 over Taylor’s Ridge is intended to address a problem that has challenged highway crews for decades — an unstable mountainside where groundwater, steep slopes and the underlying geology have repeatedly contributed to movement of the roadway.
WZQZ News previously reported on the upcoming Taylor Ridge project, but a closer look at Georgia DOT records shows the work is considerably more than routine highway maintenance.
The project is officially designated PI No. 0015413, “SR 1/U.S. 27 at Taylors Ridge – Phase II.” GDOT classifies the work as slope repair and reconstruction/rehabilitation along approximately 0.21 mile of U.S. 27 in Chattooga County.
The reason for the project becomes clearer when looking at the history and geology of Taylor Ridge.
Government geological studies of the U.S. 27 cut through Taylor Ridge document layers of shale, sandstone and other rock, along with groundwater moving through the formations. In fact, drainage of the mountainside has been an issue for more than six decades. A Georgia geological study documented 83 horizontal drainage wells drilled into the rock above U.S. 27 specifically to divert groundwater away from the highway fill. Those wells were between 39 and 147 feet deep, and their discharge increased substantially following periods of heavy rainfall.
That groundwater is important because water moving through a steep road cut can contribute to weakening and movement of soil and rock surrounding the highway.
The problems aren’t new. By 2019, the north side of U.S. 27 on Taylor Ridge had again experienced significant movement. At the time, Georgia DOT said it was evaluating a permanent solution after a portion of the northbound roadway dropped several inches in a short period. Temporary paving, warning devices and lane restrictions were used while engineers studied a longer-lasting repair.
The state subsequently completed an earlier stabilization project. GDOT’s records show PI No. 0015412, described as slide stabilization on U.S. 27/SR 1 at Taylor Ridge, was awarded for approximately $1.59 million, with an April 2021 completion date.
The upcoming work is Phase II of the effort.
And GDOT considers the project significant from a transportation-resiliency standpoint. In the department’s Resilience Improvement Plan, the Taylor Ridge project received Class 3 ratings for criticality, vulnerability and risk and was placed in the plan’s first-priority category.
The scope and cost also illustrate that this isn’t simply another resurfacing job. GDOT’s current Statewide Transportation Improvement Program lists the total project cost at approximately $9.85 million, including about $8.75 million for construction, $500,000 for right-of-way and $100,000 for utilities. The project maintains the existing two-lane configuration rather than widening U.S. 27.
The project has now moved another major step toward construction. GDOT included PI 0015413 in its September 18, 2026 construction letting, identifying the U.S. 27 project in Chattooga County as approximately 0.208 mile long.
Taken together, the records show why so much work has been required at Taylor Ridge over the years: U.S. 27 crosses a steep mountainside with complex rock formations and documented groundwater movement, and portions of the highway have a history of settling and sliding. The Phase II project is designed as a slope repair rather than another temporary paving fix.
U.S. 27 over Taylor Ridge is one of Chattooga County’s most important transportation links, carrying traffic between Summerville and Rome and serving commuters, commercial vehicles and emergency traffic every day.
WZQZ News will continue following the project as Georgia DOT moves from bidding into construction and more information becomes available about the work schedule and traffic impacts.
Motorists traveling Georgia Highway 100 between Summerville and the Floyd County line pass a place whose unusual name reaches deep into Chattooga County’s earliest history.
South Carolina Campground sits near the southern end of Taylor’s Ridge in the High Point area. To someone unfamiliar with the community, the name might seem out of place. After all, the South Carolina state line is many miles away.
But the name is a reminder of the families who settled this portion of Chattooga County during the 1800s — and of a time when a rural campground could serve not only as a place of worship, but as a school, meeting place, cemetery and center of community life.
Records indicate the history of South Carolina Campground stretches back to the 1840s, only a few years after Chattooga County itself was created in 1838.